Agawam teen steps up to help Cathedral


Cathedral High School was severely damaged during the June 1 tornado causing students to be moved to Memorial School in Wilbraham for the 2011-2012 school year. Reminder Publications file photo

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

Sept. 26, 2011

GREATER SPRINGFIELD — Agawam junior Zack Sabadosa never attended Cathedral High School. In fact, the two schools have built quite a rivalry over the years. But that didn’t stop him from taking action when the school’s building was destroyed by the EF-3 tornado that tore through Western Massachusetts on June 1.

Cathedral High School received a grant from ESPN and Powerade for $20,000 from their Rise Up For Your School program and it’s all because Sabadosa nominated them.

“We’d especially like to say thank you to Zack,” Joseph Hegarty, athletic director at Cathedral, told Reminder Publications. “This is unbelievable. It’s true that times like this can bring out the best in people and one of those people brought this grant to us.”

Sabadosa wrote an essay explaining Cathedral’s situation and outlining why they would be a good candidate for the program.

In addition to the damage to the building, Sabadosa pointed out that Cathedral’s lacrosse team was forced to borrow equipment from Suffield Academy because theirs was destroyed and the baseball team was able to overcome the tragedy to compete, beating Central in the first round of the Western Massachusetts Division 1 tournament.

“This school and the community was hit hard by the tornado, and there is no doubt that they are deserving of this help with their athletic programs. As I said, I attend Agawam High, and I have been brought up to hate Cathedral because they are a rival of ours, but no high school deserves what happened to them, and they need this boost to their school,” his essay concluded.

Victoria Badiola, brand manager for Powerade, said the submission “struck a chord.”

“A student from a rival high school wrote the essay on Cathedral’s behalf and explained the challenges the school faces with uniforms, facilities and equipment due to a tornado that hit Springfield,” she said. “Not only were we affected by what Cathedral and the surrounding community has had to overcome, but the example of great sportsmanship really made the entry stand out. We hope the donation helps the Panthers rise up and succeed on the field, and we wish Cathedral all the best in the months and years ahead.”

Hegarty said he received word that Cathedral had been nominated by Sabadosa when the people at ESPN and Powerade wanted to know more.

“Once Zack nominated us, we were contacted by ESPN and Powerade, who told us we were finalists,” Hegarty said. “The competition consisted of creating a video explaining what we needed the grant for. I was a little nerve-racking to get it all together and to do it right. We didn’t know how much competition there was for this grant.”

However, after working with David Walsh in the Advancement Office, Hegarty said he felt the school had put together a compelling case for the funding.

“I think the video was the perfect way to apply,” he said. “When you’re talking about the Northeast, and a tornado occurring there, you could see people from down south might be rolling their eyes and saying. ‘Yeah, right, how big was this tornado, really?’ But after seeing it, I think even those people would be wowed by the extent of the damage.”

Hegarty said the details of what the money will be used for has yet to be decided.

“We’re in talks on how to use the grant,” he said. “We would like to put it toward our capital campaign to create a new athletic facility, complete with a field and track. We’re in an interesting opportunity because we’re starting from scratch.”

Sports at Cathedral have continued, despite the devastation that forced them to temporarily relocate to Memorial School in Wilbraham.

“One official from the MIAA [Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association] asked if we wanted to be part of the athletic schedule this year and I told him, ‘Oh, yes. Cathedral will go on,’” Principal John Miller said.

Wilbraham Parks and Recreation, Lusitano Stadium and Springfield Public Schools are among the organizations that have allowed Cathedral to use their fields in the meantime. Chicopee Comprehensive High School is letting the Cathedral football team call its field home this season, allowing the Panthers the chance to play under the lights, something they didn’t have before. American International College (AIC) recently donated a substantial amount of exercise equipment to the school.

“AIC is always on the move, getting the best of everything, and they were updating their equipment, which was in good working condition,” Hegarty said. “They thought, ‘Why just get rid of it?’ So we ended up with essentially a weight room’s worth of equipment.”

Among all the help, Sabadosa’s gesture stands out most to Hegarty.

“A lot of communities have been very supportive, but Zack took it to another level,” he said. “It shows that, on the field, we might be trying to beat each other, but off the field, people are behind us.”

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